Kenneth Cope
Kenneth Cope is an actor who portrayed Jed Stone on Coronation Street on a recurring basis from 1961 to 1966. He reprised the role a whopping 42-years later in 2008, and appeared for several months until the character suddenly left the programme in 2009. Before Corrie Original Corrie stints (1961-1966) Thirty-year-old Kenneth Cope first appeared as Jed Stone in April 1961, which was originally intended as a one-off appearance. However five months later he reprised the role on a more permanent basis. Due to an Equity strike which meant several actors couldn't have their contacts renewed, Cope was absent from the show for a year before eventually returning in late 1962. During this stint which lasted a few months up until March 1963, Jed got involved with landlady Minnie Caldwell and they shared a type of mother and son relationship. Cope returned to the role again in January 1966 and continued on until September that year. After Coronation Street In 1967 Cope wrote two episodes for Coronation Street spin-off Turn Out the Lights, which itself was a sequel to spin-off Pardon the Expression. Cope appeared in his most famous role as Marty Hopkirk in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) from 1969 to 1970. After Minnie Caldwell's actress Margot Bryant passed away in January 1988, Cope hosted a tribute programme dedicated to her and Minnie Caldwell, and briefly appeared in-character as Jed Stone. This would be his last known contribution to Coronation Street for twenty years. From 1999 to 2002 Cope appeared in the soap opera Brookside as Ray Hilton. Return to Coronation Street (2008-2009) After a 42-year absence, Kenneth Cope returned to filming for the show in June 2008 for the role of Jed Stone, with a four episode stint airing in August. Originally it wasn't intended for Cope to return, as Jed's story was intended for an original elderly character named Mr. Gamble, but the casting director June West suggested to the production team to bring back Kenneth Cope. Cope continued filming for the show beyond his original four episode return, and the character returned in November 2008. The producers planned for Jed to be murdered at the hands of villainous Tony Gordon (portrayed by Gray O'Brien) on Christmas, however Cope was against the idea so the producers changed it so Jed survived his attack by Tony. Cope filmed a few more scenes which aired after the New Year, in order to reveal Jed's survival. This would be his final time on the show, and he didn't return for any new scenes as part of Tony's downfall later in the year. This currently marks Cope's final contribution to television. Kenneth Cope's absence from the show as quite a record breaker at the time, however ended up being surpassed when Philip Lowrie reprised the role of Dennis Tanner in 2011 after a 43-year absence, and ended up earning a world record. Post 2009 Kenneth Cope appeared as a character witness at the trial of William Roache (Ken Barlow) in 2014. Personal His wife Renny Lister appeared as Jed's girlfriend Jean Stark in 1961. They have three children, one of them being Martha Cope who also appeared in the show in 2015 as Kevin Webster's date Joanne. Category:Actors Category:Coronation Street cast members